New building rules for cantonment residents

PUNE: For the first time in nearly five decades, the ministry of defence (MoD) is framing new byelaws for buildings in Cantonment areas across the country, adding new provisions for floor space index (FSI)-ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.

Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar, on his recent visit to the city, announced a revision in FSI for some of the older buildings in the Cantonment-from 1.0 to 1.2 for the civil areas. The move is expected to help people residing in some of the most structurally vulnerable buildings.

In May, the MoD also allowed re-construction of buildings built prior to 1984 on originally sanctioned plans.

According to Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) officials, one of the most populated of the 62 cantonments in India, the new byelaws have "long-term consequences".

"We can expect this change in byelaws to affect construction activity and lives in the area for at least 25 years. These changes were long due, as byelaws have not kept up with the times. This will help people renovate their homes or businesses, currently in precarious condition," says DN Yadav, chief executive officer of the PCB.

The new byelaws, first update since the 1980s, will have regulations apart from FSI as well. Once approved, there will be updated regulations concerning side margins, thickness of walls, height of the ceilings, etc. While two-thirds of the byelaws will be common across all cantonments, the MoD will allow some local variations.

"Based on the population of the cantonment, and other aspects like available infrastructure and surroundings, one-third of the byelaws will be framed exclusively for the cantonment concerned. This is extremely helpful for us, as many Smart Cantonment programmes are to be implemented here over the next year. We hope to implement the byelaws by April 2017," Yadav added.

The defence ministry, however, needs to accept the byelaws proposal PCB sends. MoD has also set aside a month for public consultation over the new byelaws.

Sponsored Stories

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Morning Daily

Lighting Weekly

The draft allows district-level authorities, headed by the district magistrate, to seek exemption from public hearing while granting green clearance for sand mining in areas up to five hectares of land.

The court said it is the obligation of the government to protect its citizens who belong to middle class family and invested their hard earned money in buying flats but got cheated by builders and facing uncertainty.